The Silverness
by NovemberianPegasus
Summary: Your best friend, Edward, is the perfect man for you... and for every girl in this planet.
1. Chapter 1 Introduction

An annoying sound wakes you up, and for a moment, you don't recognize the place. For a few seconds, you don't know where you are, until you see your backpack lying on the floor and a dog watching you at your right. You remember you just moved to Forks, to live in with your dad, and THIS is your new room. In your new house... with Charlie's dog.  
You turn off the alarm by tapping your phone's screen.

You toss and turn inside the warm sheets a couple of minutes, hating the fact you'll have to abandon them to enter the cold atmosphere, but you have never been the one for missing school, so your inner voice claims you to get up.

As you make your way to the bathroom, you hear your father's voice from downstairs as he's talking on the phone. You don't get to hear anything, but you weren't interested anyway.  
As you climb downstairs and sit on the kitchen table, your father, Charlie Swan, the chief of police, serves you a plate with eggs, bacon, fries and a slice of toast.

"Wow" you say, "you can cook, dad?"  
Charlie smiles and serves you a cup of coffee, while sitting next to you.  
"You're damn right, I can" he laughs.

You both have breakfast and make small talk between bites and sips of coffee.  
"So " he starts, "we have a couple of neighbors. The Smiths, across the street, who are a nice and quiet retired couple. You can always stay over with Mrs. Smith if you want to spend some time with a grandmotherly figure. She makes uh... cookies and sweaters and all that.  
And we have the Cullens, next door. They are a nice couple who have like a hundred foster kids... who happen to go to Forks High."  
You keep on chewing your food, and nod to everything he just said. You don't really mind for this information, since spending time outside the house sounds like something everyone will avoid... its always raining in Forks. Charlie sips his coffee again and without taking his eyes off from his cup, he continues.  
"I called Doctor Carlisle and asked him if his kids could drive you to school. I just got a call from the station with an urgent matter and your car is not ready yet."

You want to answer, but your mouth is full. Everything is starting to sink in, and when you're about to say anything, there's a knock on the door. Charlie picks up his and your plate and walks to the zinc.

"So go ahead and say hi to your new neighbors. You'll be carpooling today, sweetie. Im sorry" he says from over his shoulder.

Swallowing a groan, you stand up and walk towards the door. For some reason, when you arrived this town, you felt like it was a new stage in your life, but after opening the door, you felt like your whole life changed. A tall, pale and well shaped man with bronze hair is standing outside. His marble-shaped face seems confused, and he stares into your eyes, with his golden pupils, like a fly drawn to a light; hypnotized, trying to find an answer to his thoughts in your eyes.  
You start to feel nervous, or dazzled, or maybe hipnotized as well. You startle when Charlie stands up behind you.  
"Edward, you met my daughter, Bella."

The god-made-man named Edward clears his throat, and you see the nerves on his neck and his collarbone react to this, as he cleared his throat, reincorporating himself.  
His eyebrows dance as he tries to regain posture.  
"Yes, hello" he stretches his hand to you and offers a warm smile. "My name is Edward Cullen and I live next door with my family. My siblings and I are going to ride to school and we wanted to take you with us."  
You seem amazed by his politeness. He stated everything as if it was his offering, not Charlie's idea.  
"Hi, Bella Swan. Thank you... very much" you manage to answer.

You kiss your father goodbye and walk besides Edward to a shiny silver volvo.  
In front of the volvo, there's a Jeep, where you see two people inside. A blonde girl and a bulky boy.  
Inside the Volvo, there are other two kids. Now you understand the "a hundred foster children" part.

A very nice, big eyed girl with a pixie haircut greets you from the back seat, as you sit in the passenger seat. "My name's Alice, and this is Jasper." she says, referring to a blonde boy next to her. She's grinning widely, as if she was excited for you too be there.  
You introduce yourself and embrace for a small talk ride with strangers to school.

At least you would not be alone.


	2. Chapter 2 Forks

**AN: hello, everyone. I hope you enjoy this story. I just wanted to say that the Bella I am creating is not the one from the books... and she's far from being the one from the movies. I want to make this Bella more real, with emotions and everything... not the martyr or the one who suffers in silence and all that jazz. This one is a friendly, happy Bella who appreciates people giving her gifts. Enjoy!**

The ride to school is easy; Alice, the girl in the backseat, keeps asking about your life before you got here.  
You tell her about the friends you left, your school, the weather, and how you used to have fun back in Phoenix with your acquaintances.

"So why did you left?" Jasper asked. Everyone in the car seemed interested in your life, even though Alice was the only one brave enough to ask.  
"Well, the official version, is that I wanted my mother to make her life with Phil. He travels a lot, and she wants to follow him, but I have to stay in school, so I can't join them" you clear up.  
"And the unofficial?" asked Alice.  
"I wanted a change of life. Everything I have told you about my friends, my school, and hobbies is true, but it didn't fill me, somehow. They say life starts outside the comfort zone, and Phoenix was my comfort zone."

You feel a bit ashamed of opening up so easily with these strangers, but somehow it felt good. They seem very interested in your life, and its nice to be heard.

"I think people should look for their happiness, instead of sitting and waiting for it to happen. People our age seem to believe that life starts once we graduate or leave our parents' house. Once we are financially stable, or get our own place, or even have a partner... but happiness is found fixing our problems, that's all."

You finish your speech and there's a short silence. Alice giggles. "So..." she starts, "speaking about partners..."

"Alice" Edward cuts her. It's the first time he talks since he greeted you on your house.  
"What? I just wanted to know if she had a boyfriend back at Phoenix... girl talk"

You laugh. These kind of arguments between siblings seem amusing to you, since you have never experienced them before. And besides, its even more funny to you because its not like you're a closed book, you like being open about your feelings and thoughts, sharing opinions and emotions.

"Its ok, Edward. I had a boyfriend back at home. His name's Ray, he was ok. We got along pretty well, but he didn't make me... happy. We didn't argue or anything, we would almost never fight, but he was not filling the void that was starting to grow on me. When I just thought about leaving, I told him about it, and he said that he supported me, but we couldn't date no more. He wouldn't make it through a long distance relationship. So we broke up, and we stayed friends."

Alice seems very interested in everything you have to say, and Edward is smiling. Jasper's sitting behind your seat, so you wouldn't know how he is.

You think its rude to be talking too much about yourself, so you want to know about them, too. But as you want to ask them, you arrive to Forks High.  
"Can we now talk about you guys, at lunch?" you ask, as Edward parks.  
Alice grins and accepts. "But first lets get your schedule".

The three of them lead you to a small cubicle inside the building. There's a nice old lady with red hair sitting behind a computer. "Hi, Mrs. Lawrence." Alice chirps. "Here is the new girl, Isabella Swan"  
"Oh, Miss Swan. Yes, so I assume you're here for your schedule." Mrs Lawrence says as she starts looking for something between her papers. She turns to Alice "So nice of you to guide her, Alice"  
Alice makes a smug face, as if she overly likes being recognized for her efforts.

Mrs Lawrence wishes you a nice day and stay in Forks while she hands over a piece of paper, which you wanted to take but Alice grabs it before you.  
She studies the paper and hands it to you. "Aw, we have no classes in common. You're one grade older than Jasper and I. But you have Biology with Edward after lunch"  
You turn to look at Edward with a smile  
"Hey, lab partner" you chant.  
He eyes you and chuckles, with his hands in his pockets, and you turn to your paper.

"Well, my first class is Trig... Room 312"

They lead you to Room 312, and wave goodbye. "See you at lunch" Jasper yells, between the crowd already on the other end of the hall.

You enter the classroom, and there are a few students already sitting. Ones are on their phones, and others talking between them. You don't know where to sit, maybe some seats are already taken, and it would be awkward for someone to enter the room, wanting to sit on their usual place and find a stranger on their chair. You approach the nearest girl next to you, who is texting. She's sitting on the second seat from the first row from the door, so she's next to the wall. She seems harmless, skinny and wears glasses.  
"Hi" you say in a decent level voice, she looks up, and automatically smiles. You smile back. "I was wondering if any of these seats is available. I don't want to take anyone's place"

The girls giggles and stands up, looking around. Then she points the seat next to her. "This seat is available. My name's Angela, you must be Isabella."  
You offer your hand "Yes, hi. Everyone calls me Bella. Nice to meet you"  
she takes your hand and shakes it. You put your bag on your desk and sit. Angela finishes her text, locks her phone and turns to you.  
"So how are you liking Forks?"  
"It's nice. People are very nice, so far. I'm not very used to the cold, wet weather but I don't mind very much. Have you lived here all your life?" 

You and Angela hit it off, and you can easily see you being friends. The bell rings, and the room starts filling up. A boy puts his backpack on the desk in front of Angela, and approaches her to kiss her. "Good morning" he says to her, and then he turns to you, "Hi, you must be the Swan girl. Im Ben"  
"Hi" you smile and Angela introduces you, in a proper way "her name is Bella"

"Be-lla" Ben repeats, in a fake italian accent. Angela and you giggle, and he takes his place as the Trig teacher enters.

The two hours run fast, as the first half hour you spent in front of class, introducing yourself and answering questions. Everyone seem very nice and interested on your life. It does seem like Forks is a very small town, being this excited in an outsider's life.

As the bell rang, you take your bag and your schedule. Spanish is next, which is Angela's next class, too.  
You follow her to the next room, and spend your first half hour talking about yourself as well... but in spanish.  
"Buenos dias, mi nombre es Isabella, pero me gusta que me digan Bella. Soy de Phoenix, Arizona y estoy feliz de venir a Forks."  
Everyone struggles with their spanish to ask you more questions, but you help them.  
Miss Rodriguez is happy to know that she has an advanced student and asks how is it that you speak fluent spanish, and you explain you fell in love with spanish music when you were little, so you wanted to learn more about the language. It was appealing to you that spanish was classified as a 'romantic' language.

After class, a blonde boy approaches you.  
He introduces himself, his name is Mike, and he seems shy. You smile, in a way that you try to let him know that you're harmless, and he says he needs a spanish tutor. He asks if some day you could both gather up to study after class, and you agree. Then he follows you and Angela to the hall, where you meet Ben. Ben and Mike seem to be friends, and you all walk towards the cafeteria.

As you cross the cafeteria's doors, you look for the Cullens, which they have to stand out.  
You find them at a table across the room and you wave them, they wave back. The blond girl and the buffy guy who were in the jeep are also sitting there.  
"You know the Cullens?" ask Mike, as you all make line for food.  
"Yeah, they're my neighbors, I carpooled today with them. Actually they wanted me to join them in lunch, you guys don't mind, do you?"

Angela smiled towards you, cutting anything Mike was about to say. "Don't worry, Bella. I'd actually insist you to. The Cullens aren't very popular in Forks High. Maybe if you sit with them, they might mingle more with the riffraff."  
You don't know how to take this comment. "What do you mean? They seem nice" you ask.  
Angela laughs, "They don't hang with anyone. But you're very nice and easygoing, and people are very interested in you. People might want to start sitting with the Cullens just to be around you... I was about to ask you if I could join you, actually."

You order a burger and pay. "Well, if anyone wants to sit with us, just come and join us. They're as nice as you, I swear."  
With a smile, you turn and sit next to Alice. It seems like everyone had finished eating, because their trays were empty.  
You introduce yourself to the two Jeep strangers. The blond girl's name is Rosalie, she's not as excited as the others were to meet you, but the big guy's name is Emmett, and he had a huge grin on his face.

You started questioning all about them. First, superficial stuff, like their hobbies and taste in movies and music. You wanted to touch the subject of them being fostered, but it is too soon for the subject. You have just met.

They seem normal, why wouldn't people want to hang out with them? or the other way around, why wouldn't they want to approach others? But you shrug it off.

Suddenly, Alice stares into the horizon... as if she just remembered something very important. Edward kicks her under the table but you play as if you didn't notice.  
Alice then turns to you "do you want to spend the evening at our place? I want to show you some of my creations" she said, referring to the hobby she talked you about: fashion design. There was no way you would deny her this, so you agreed.  
You get a text from Charlie.  
"Bells, Im so sorry, I wont be able to make it home until very late, and I forgot to give you a copy of the house keys. Is there any way you'll spend the day with the Cullens? You'll have the copy tonight. Love you"

Well, this is convenient. After replying the message, the bell rings. You take the tray and stick next to Edward, because Biology is your next class.


	3. Chapter 3 Biology

You hand your paper to the teacher, and he also makes you stand in front of the class. You start to feel bothered by this, but you still try to do it in a good way, because they don't know you have been doing this all day and they still want to know you.  
You feel a little shy, because Edward seems more interested than the rest of the class, which they already are paying a lot of attention.

"Tell us about yourself, Miss Swan" the professor pushes you.

"Well... so far, I know that you guys have heard about me before I arrived. I'm the Chief of Police's daughter, Isabella Swan. I prefer to be called Bella, because my family and friends back home have called me that since I was a little girl. I like classic literature, music-"

"What kind of music? What are your favorite books?" Edward interrupts. Everyone stares at him, as if he has never talked before.  
"Let's wait for the questions at the end of her speech, shall we?" says the teacher.  
"No, no... its ok" you say "I was running out of things to say, thanks. I really like Shakespeare, Romeo and Juliet, A Midnight Summer Dream... The Bronte Sisters, Don Quijote de la Mancha, 100 years of solitude. As for the music, I really like Jazz in cold weathers, which I guess I'll like Jazz all year long in here..." you pause because the room laughs. "I like classical music as well... except for Beethoven. I don't like him. He's way too depressing and/or aggressive."

"What's your favorite thing about classical music?" Edward asks.  
"The strings... with emotion. I'm a romantic, as you can tell. Violins on vibrato, the cello as the main character, Im all for powerful strings in an orchestra.

But piano... piano does not need a partner. It is everything by itself. It is it's own orchestra"

The introduction turned into an interrogatory between Edward and you, until the professor cuts you off to start class, but the bell rings.  
Everyone seemed annoyed at Edward, and you hear someone murmur a curse at him, but they greet you while they exit the class.

You walk to Edward as he wears his bag. "You annoyed the class" you say between laughs. He just smiles.  
"I don't mind, I _was_ curious."

You laugh and shake your head, amused by how little he cared how he made a whole room of people to despise him.  
You both walk to the parking lot, and you find it odd how he wanted to know everything about you in front of 30 people but he wouldn't ask a thing alone with you. He remained silent while you both walked, which you didn't mind, but you also want to know about him.

"So" you start "Rosalie is into cars, Alice is into fashion; but I couldn't get what the Cullen boys were into. Now that I have the chance... What is _your_ thing?"  
He smiles. "Music".  
"You play something?"  
He smiles and looks away, biting his cheeks to hide a smile. "Piano".  
"Really? That's amazing! Can I hear you play?"  
"Sure... I can play something when we get home."  
You both get in the Volvo and wait for the rest of his siblings to get there.  
Edward takes his phone and plugs the aux cord, looks for a song and plays it.  
"I composed this" he says.  
The music is exquisite. Calm, mysterious and soothing... like himself.  
You feel as if you could melt into the seat, you love every second of it.  
After two minutes, you sigh.  
"It's amazing" you smile.  
Weirdly, Edward exhales a relief sigh, as if he was expecting your approval.  
Someone so impressive as himself wouldn't want anyone's opinion... let aside their approval.

Suddenly, his phone begins to ring. He answers, annoyed, as if he already knew what he was going to listen.  
"Hello?... Jasper, we're waiting here in the car. What? Hand her over... Alice! What are you-? Alice. Ughh!"  
Edward keeps his phone into his pocket  
"They are going to do some homework at someone's house, so we have to go home ourselves."  
He seems annoyed, and you start to think that maybe it annoys him to be the daycare man, the one who has to deal with the silly neighbor who doesn't have her own house keys.  
But suddenly, he turns to face you, his eyes filled with preoccupation.  
"I really hope this isn't a problem for you"

You want to soothe his worry, but he is someone you just met, so you play it off.  
"Of course not! lets go. I really want to hear you play!"


	4. Chapter 4 Piano

The drive to the neighborhood is quiet, and you guess maybe he's introverted, so you don't push small talk. You lay back and turn the volume up a little to ease the atmosphere.  
You peek from the corner of your eye, searching any sign on his face that could say how is he feeling, but you find that he has confusion written all over him.  
"Is there something wrong?" you ask. He seems startled, once again, as if he was very concentrated on his confusion. He smiles politely, after a while, and answers without taking the sight from the road.  
"In all honesty, I was just trying to guess what you were thinking. But I can't... _guess right_ , for some reason."

You make him a face and laugh. "Then you might be a very good reader if this is unusual to you... not being able to understand strangers' thoughts."  
He laughs and shrugs.  
"I was thinking about our interview a few moments ago... but when we're alone, you are very quiet."  
He laughs again, but this time, nervously.

"I... don't know. In all honesty, I really like you for some reason, but my social skills aren't the best ones. I felt comfortable asking about yourself around others, but when we're alone, I guess I'm just thinking about not making a fool out of myself."  
You laugh and he makes a face, as if he felt he was making a fool of himself this time.  
His grip hardens on the steering wheel and it looks like he wants to bury himself on the ground.  
"It's ok," you say "then I'll just have to let you know all about me, so you can see for yourself than if you're around me, you will never be the fool."  
He laughs and his grip relaxes.  
"I like you too, by the way" you say, effortlessly, and he smiles.

You arrive to the Cullen residency. Dr. Cullen opens the door, his wife next to him.  
They both greet you, and present themselves as Carlisle and Esme.  
"Nice to meet you, Bella." Esme greets. "Are you hungry? Alice called and said you were coming over so we made a portion extra of lasagna."  
You feel somehow shy for the gesture, but accept. Edward says he's not hungry, and his parents just ate.  
The rest of his siblings haven't arrived, so you eat alone in the dining room.  
Edward and Esme join you, but Carlisle leaves for an emergency in the hospital.

After the meal, Edward takes you to a tour around the house. It's spacey but cozy, and he takes you to a room upstairs. He says its his room, but there's a nice couch instead of a bed. The walls are piled in books and music albums.  
You feel impressed, he suddenly seems very interesting. Not everyone is very passionate about any hobby, they just say they like music, but only listen to what's on the radio.  
You walk downstairs, to the living room, where you find an old piano.  
At the end of the living room, you see a chimney. Edward walks towards it. "Are you cold?" he asks you.  
You feel somewhat chilly, but not very much. You nod and he turns on the fire with a twist of a handle stick.  
He walks to the piano and sits in front of it. His backs straightens, and you see how the light of the fireplace marks the nerves on his hand as he lifts the cover of the keys. You follow their graceful movements, and you see that one of them pats the space next to him.  
Your eyes return to his face, and he notices your mind was elsewhere.  
You sit next to him, and feel the heat of the chimney warm your body, but you feel warm on your chest as well, as soon as he starts playing.

You feel comfortable, at peace. Like you could be yourself around him anytime, and you start to wonder if you _can_ be yourself. To let go of all of the social conventions and just treat him like you know him already. You have never treated anyone like this, but you know people like it when you're honest, and you believe that's the only way to make real friends.  
You give up and lay your head on his arm.  
You feel like he stiffens for a second or two, but then he relaxes, and continues playing.  
"I hope you don't mind. I just feel so comfortable right now." You say, hoping it's ok with him.  
He remains silent for a few minutes, and you start to wonder if you should lift your head up, but he finally smiles and breaks the silence.  
"It's fine... I'm glad you did it. I feel less nervous now, somehow."

You stay like this for a while; you listening to the music, with your head on his arm, and him playing.  
You feel very relaxed, and then you start to fall asleep.

"Hey brother" you hear. It sounds like Alice's voice. Edward shushes her, gently.  
"Sorry we're late, how was your evening?"

You want to open your eyes and greet Alice and the rest of the Cullens, but you're somewhat curious for what Edward has to say.  
"It was good. I played some music for her... She requested!" He answered. He panicked at the last words, as if she had made a face or something, mocking him.  
You open your eyes, and you see the Cullens around you. You smile at them, and sit up... you were lying on Edward's lap, both on the couch. "I'm sorry" you say, while looking around. It's dark, and you think about Charlie, but you relax as soon as you remember that you only live next door.  
Edward rubs your back, as Alice sits next to you. You stand up, and take out your phone. 3 missed calls, all from Charlie. Callback.

 _Tooooot, toooot._

"Bella? It's late, are you at the Cullens? I'm very sorry, I haven't been able to leave the station..."  
"Dad! It's okay" You answer. "I just want to know... are you coming back soon? As you said, it's late."  
"Uhm... something just came up... I'm sorry..."  
You groan  
"Dad Are you serious? Can't I just go to the station and pick up the key set?"

So you do. Edward takes you, with alice and jasper in the backseat.

Charlie gives you and the rest of the cullens a big apologetic face, while giving you the keys.  
They leave you at your house, and wish you good night, while you enter your house to sleep.

-  
The next weeks passed way too fast.  
The cullens turned out to be your best friends on the next course of days.  
And as Angela said, the Cullen table widened, as more people sat with you.

One sunny morning, you ran downstairs to the smell of coffee.  
"Morning dad!" you greet Charlie.  
"Hey, Bells! Have you seen how sunny the day is?"

You open the door, excited to see the sun, but also, there's a big orange truck on the entrance.  
"It's your homecoming present, remember? I told you I bought you a car." You hear Charlie from behind you.t  
Somehow, you like this truck. Its heavy, but its yours.  
You go next door to show off your new truck, that compared with all of their cars, your truck is garbage... but you still want to share the news with them.  
You stand on the entrance, and find an envelope that reads Bella, taped on the door.  
You take it and read it.  
"Dear Bella,  
As you may notice, the day today is beautiful, so we went hiking upriver. We might take long, sorry for the short notice. See you in two days!  
Love,  
The Cullens"

You feel a little upset, so you walk back home to eat breakfast and take your first ride to school on your own car.

In lunchtime, Angela, Mike, Ben and you sit together and plan a movie together.  
Jessica, a girl from Trigonometry class started sitting with you a couple of weeks ago, and she seems nice, but for some reason, today she seems disappointed.

"Where are your neighbors?" She asks. You understands that she might be the only person who sits with you because she wants to be near them.

"I don't know" You shrug. Might as well you play it off. "This morning I knocked on their door and there was a letter. They said they went camping."  
"Camping? Did they say when were they coming back?" Jessica asked. You start to feel annoyed for some reason, but since you can't really say why, you try to act normal.  
"Two days... so they wrote."  
"Alright! Two days!" Interrupted Mike. "So... about the movie. How about we go today? A good call for friday night plans!"

"That's not fair" said Jessica "I'll be alone! Angela will go with Ben, Mike with Bella... if Edward was here, we could be even."  
Your blood boiled at the sound of his name on her skinny, wide, ugly gossipy lips.  
You knew it. She was after Edward. Not that it's any of your business, but he's _your_ neighbor, isn't he? She's just friends with you so she can get to him, and that's a mean way to treat people.  
But you shouldn't go crazy at this... he's your friend. You two are just friends.  
As far as you know, she could try all she wanted, he wasn't going to ask her out.  
"Don't be silly, Jessica, we can share Mike." You say, to hide your anger "Besides, it's not a date, it's a bunch of friends going out to the movies. When he comes back to school, you can ask him out."

Jessica's face brightens. "Sure? I mean... you're ok with it?"  
Uh oh... you didn't think this was going far. But everyone's staring at you, so you must answer quickly.  
"Sure..." 

At the movies, all of you make line to buy the tickets. Jessica is behind you and she _can't. stop. talking._

She's just babbling away about how cute a couple would she and _Edward_ make. How gorgeous _Edward_ is, how stylish his clothes are, how mysterious he seemed, how would it be like if _Edward_ held her hand...  
"...and have you seen _Edward_ 's shoe size?"

" **Jessica!** " you cracked. "Stop."  
Jessica's face drops. You're next in line.  
You pay your ticket and follow the rest of the group.

Jessica sticks with Angela, leaving Ben out to mingle with the singles.  
"So... what does she think she's doing?" asks Ben, while in line for popcorn. He points with his head towards Jessica, who's talking with Angela, more like gossiping.  
"I think she's mad because apparently _someone_ has feelings for her man" says Mike, making eye contact with you.

"Edward isn't her man! And I don't have feelings for him! He happens to be one of my best friends and she was talking about his shoe size. As if he wasn't anything more than physical appearance."

Ben giggles "good thing you don't feel anything for him."  
"Oh, shut up." You say as you give him a friendly punch. He laughs and goes back to reclaim his place with Angela.  
There's an awkward silence between Mike and you.  
"May I... pay for your popcorn?" he asks.  
"Only if I can pay for your soda" you answer.  
"Why?"  
"To be fair, I guess?"  
Mike stays quiet for a second or two, with his hands in his pockets.  
"I was trying to turn this into a date."

Suddenly, you hear a big ruckus, like a wall cracked, coming from the men's restroom.  
Employees run towards the restroom, and you turn to mike, paying no more interest. Maybe it's the old pipes of the building or something.

"Mike, if you wanted me to go out with you, you should've asked before us being here. You are cornering me."

Angela, Ben and Jessica leave the line, after buying their popcorn and drinks. Mike's next in line.

"So, date or no date?" he says, pressuring you, while he was pressured by the cashier and the rest of the line.  
You don't want to hurt his feelings, but you don't see him as anything more.  
"I'll buy my own things, Mike"  
His face turns confused. You can already hear his thoughts.  
 _She didn't accept me paying for her things, but she didn't say 'no date', either._

Ugh... boys.

You and your friends enter the show room and take your places.  
Ben, Angela, Mike, You and... an empty spot?  
"Where's Jessica?" you ask.  
"She said she wanted to pee" Ben replies.

The movie hasn't started yet, so you eat your popcorn as mike starts making uncomfortable small talk. Why couldn't everyone be like Edward? Just shut up if you don't know what to say. He wouldn't be making small talk, he would remain silent. But lately he has a lot to talk about. He would be talking about his favorite orquesta directors, and how they each have a different feeling to the same piece, or whatever. He would... 

"Hey Bella" a familiar voice greets you.  
"Look who I found on the way to the ladies room" brags Jessica, with her arms around Edward's arm.

What the hell?

"Hey..." you greet, without standing up from your seat. You try to look him to his face, like you usually do, but this time it's difficult.  
You feel angry, and you should be. He's your friend, and Jessica's claiming him out of nowhere. You bet that IF something would happen between them (SUPER emphasizing IF), she wouldn't sit with you at lunch anymore, she would want to take him away. And you wouldn't be able to visit the cullens freely anymore.  
You could only be with the rest of the family, and that's ok, but whenever you didn't feel like talking, and you feel down, you couldn't count with Edward anymore. Because she'd be there, or she'd put a restraining order on you over him.

Play it cool, play it cool.

"Weren't you camping with your family?" You ask him, trying to look to his face.  
"Uhm... yes. But Alice checked the weather and tonight's going to rain. So we came back, and the guys wanted to see a movie. Jessica said you were here so I came to say hi."  
"Uhm Edward... I thought you wanted to catch the movie with me." Jessica 'hinted'.  
Edward's brow lifted.  
"Why?"

 _God damn it_. How could anyone be angry at him? He was so clueless, and obviously, not interested in Jessica.  
You feel a lot of joy when you see Jessica's implosion, her face tries to remain calm, but you see in her eyes how hysterical she feels.

But then... Mike's hand is over yours. "We were on a double date and Jessica was free, you could be her date." says stupid Mike Newton. You pull your hand fast from under his.  
"What?" you manage to say.

"Oh..." Edward mumbles.  
"No... we're not on a double date" you say, staring at Mike. "If you're going to be like this, I'd rather go and say hi to the rest of the Cullens." You stand up and walk past Jessica and Edward, then you turn to him "You can stay here with Jessica and be part of this double date thing if you want, I'm out" You storm out with your popcorn in hand. You know you look stupid, but you're too angry to care.

You go to your car, and sit on the back of your truck, while you eat your popcorn, angrily.  
Not at all of them, but Jessica and Mike ruined your night. And yes, you know that you shouldn't have let them get to your nerves... but if Mike was so eager to turn that fun, friendly night into a date, maybe it was the right thing to leave.

"Hey" Edward says. You jump at the sudden sound of his voice.  
After your heart calms down a bit, you greet him back. "Hey"  
Edward jumps in, and sits next to you.  
"I followed the smell of burned hair, and it lead me hear. What are you thinking so hard about?"  
You giggle and then sigh, then offer him some popcorn. He starts eating, with difficulty, as he hated them.  
"Jessica wants to date you." You say.

You both remain silent for a couple of seconds, which is driving you crazy, until he replies.  
"What should I do?"  
"What do you want to do?"  
"I don't know... I don't like her that way."  
"Do you like her in any way?"  
"Not really..."  
"So why wouldn't you know what to do?"

He doubts for a moment, then he answers.  
"Because I wanted to know what was that you wanted me to do."

Your heart starts pounding.  
"Why?"  
"I don't know. I think I care way too much about what you have to say, or how you feel."

You smile and lay your head on his arm, like you always do, but this time, his arm is around you and you lay on his chest.  
"I don't want you to go out with her." you say, smiling.  
He smiles back.  
"I wont, then. I mean... it's going to be hard, because she's irresistible and all that."  
You give him a slight punch and he laughs.

"shall we leave?" He asks.  
"What about your family?"  
"Ehrm... they're not here. Actually, they're home. I lied. I knew you were here. I wanted to say hi to you."  
"You have my number, weirdo. You could have called"  
"What's the fun in that?"

You text Angela and say that Edward and you are leaving.


	5. Chapter 5 20 things

"Dad? I'm calling just to say I'll sleep over at the Cullens. Alice wants to have a sleepover, is that ok?"  
Charlie agrees over the phone, and as you hang up, Edward drives to his house.  
The rains is thick as it hits the windows, and the wipers barely help.

Alice did say something about a sleepover, but that was weeks ago. Edward parks the truck on your house and you both walk to his house. He covers you with his jacket.  
The place seems to be empty, and you both go to the living room. You sit on the carpet as Edward turns on the fireplace, turns on the stereo with some mellow music and leaves the room. A few minutes later, he comes in with dry clothes on, a blanket on his hands and two cups of hot beverages. He sits next to you.

You drink and he covers himself and you with the blanket.  
"Tell me something I don't know about you" you say. You want to break more barriers between your best friend and yourself.  
He stiffens, and you see how his jaw clenches, the way he always does when you know he's nervous.  
"Something big or something small?" he says.  
"Anything you want"  
"Ok... well... I have a mark on my shoulder."  
"Really? let me see it!"  
He smiles and he uncovers his shoulder, and you see a small brown dot on his left shoulder.

"Now you tell me something I don't know about you" he challenges you.  
"uhm... well... I want to write a book someday."  
"really? about what?"  
"I'm not quite sure, really. A book about a bunch of experiences I have lived. Like Paul Auster's 'red notebook'"  
He smiles.  
You both stare at the fire, and listen to the music.

He inhales deeply.  
"There might be something you should know about me." He says.  
You feel extremely curious, and nervous at the same time. A rush of excitement runs through you, the idea of knowing a deep secret of his makes you very happy.  
You stay frozen, waiting anxiously for his statement, but he suddenly groans in exhasperation, and covers his face with his palms.  
-"I can't do it... ugh... I'm sorry."  
-"Edward" you place your hand on his back, "you can trust me".  
-"I know I can trust you."

Silence surrounds you. Your head spins in confusion, but you try to be supportive.  
-"Is it that bad?" you ask.  
-"Very. You might not want to be near me anymore"  
-"That's impossible. I really like who you are..."  
-"That's the thing. You don't know who I am."  
-"Ok, then;  
I really, really like the Edward I know.  
He is smart, patient and respectful.  
He has an amazing taste and passion for music.  
He always knows what to do or say to make me feel better. He wanted to know me better since the first week we met, and I haven't heard a complaint about me. He's nice, a gentleman, and if he has secrets, or a dark past, nothing can change the fact that he has been good to me."

Suddenly, as you speak, you hear his breath grown deeper. Your head is in his chest, and you can hear his heart thumping loudly. Your blood starts to run fast, and you suddenly feel inside a moment you haven't felt before... not even with Ray, your boyfriend back in Phoenix.  
You don't want the moment to fade away, so you continue counting the details you like about him.  
"He cares about his family, I haven't heard him complain about them. Not even once.  
He's polite, he remembers important details, and he always turns on the chimney when I need to be comforted, without me even saying how am I feeling..."

He breathes heavely, and his face starts to turn to you, as his eyes are slightly closed. You lift your face, unwillingly, and your words become a whisper.

"...and... he dresses really well, I really like the way he smells. He accepted my friends into his table easily... he... he acted like driving me to school the first day was his gesture, even when it was my father's idea."  
His lips are dangerously close to yours, and your mind goes blank. You start to mumble, not really saying anything coherent anymore. His hand cups your jaw, and your lips suddenly feel his.  
-"So..." he whispers, brushing your lips as he speaks. "You really think all of these things are enough against my darkest secret?"  
-"Uh huh"  
He exhales, and drops his hand from your face as he backs off. Your head is spinning, but you try to focus on anything he has to say.

He stares at the flames of the chimney. His jaw makes that same old clenching, and his knuckles are marked against his skin.  
He clears his throat.  
-"You know I was adopted, and all my brothers and sisters were too. But I have never told you how we were adopted. Carlisle... was bitten... by a strange creature when he was young.  
He gained this... condition, which lengthens your life expectansy."

You change your position, into a more comfortable one, so you can hear his story better.  
He covers the parts of you that are uncovered with the blanket and continues.  
"With this condition, there are other things that come along. Your body stops functioning with food. Instead... it needs something else to get its nutrients from."  
You wait patiently, and you catch him peeking at you, nervously, from the corner of his eye.

"Blood." He says.

You stay there... waiting for him to continue his story, but he's waiting for your reaction. It doesn't hit you right away. Carlisle had a condition... by a bite... that made him live from blood? And his life expectancy was longer?

Wait... doesn't this sound like...?

"How longer does one get to live after adquiring this... condition?"

He shut his eyes, ashamed.  
"Carlisle was born in 1640" he whispered.  
You freeze into your place. If this was a very sick, bad, joke...  
but the Edward you know, wouldn't do something like that.  
He was trying to confess to you, a secret from his soul;  
and even if it wasn't a joke, the right thing to do was to believe him until proven wrong; because the Edward you knew was honest. 

"When were you born?" you ask.  
He turns his face away from you, and you understand it really is hard for him to come clean.  
"1901" He says.

1901...  
Every second that passed made you think that if this was a joke, it was going too far, so you had to believe him.  
But in order to believe him, it meant that not only Carlisle, but the whole Cullens were...

"Vampires?" you whisper, unaware of the sound that came through your lips.  
Edward, still looking away, burried his face on his palms. He remained burried for the rest of the hour.  
An hour that you remained lying on the floor, gazing at the ceiling, trying to process everything he has said.  
Then, some few details that you've let slip return to your memory.  
The way they just chew a few bites at lunch, they never eat heavy dishes... he hasn't even sipped on his hot cocoa.  
The way his touch is always cold.  
And they all seemed... wise. Not filled in knowledge, but they seemed like old souls. And it fitted perfectly with the reason.

So this was it.  
Edward and his family were vampires, and they knew you would know. And they accepted you, not only as the little human neighbor, but as a friend. As the girl who spends her whole spare time inside their refuge. Even they have invited her to spend the night over.  
If they wanted to drink your blood, they wouldn't accept Edward confessing their secrets to you. And it made sense that no one was home, like they knew this was the night he confessed.

You lift your face and you search for him, and he's still burried on his hands, but at the other side of the room, sitting on one of the couches. You stand up, wrapped in the blanket, walk towards him, and hug him.  
He exhales loudly and wraps his arms around you. Relieved and thankful.

He still covers his face, but this time, against your shoulder.  
"Thank you" you hear him say from under the cover.  
You rub the back of his neck, and he relaxes a bit more. He hugs you a bit tighter and you giggle.  
"There's nothing to thank for. I really love all of you."  
He inhales sharply as you phrased the words.

You pick up his face with both your hands, and kiss his forehead.  
"It's ok... as long as we care for each other, and don't eat me" you joke.  
But his face drops.  
"That's not funny, Bella."  
"I'm sorry. I wanted to lighten the mood, that's all"

He smiles slightly and you start to feel sleepy.  
"Do vampires sleep?" you ask.  
"I'm sorry, we don't. But the sofa on my room turns into a bed. Want to go to sleep?"  
You nod and he carries you over his shoulder.  
You laugh all the way upstairs, and he places you gently on a chair.  
Suddenly, he starts moving at super speed. He unfolds the sofa, prepares the bed, goes to Alice's room for some pj's and leaves them over the bed in less than 5 seconds.  
You stare at everything with eyes wide open. He stands in front of you and giggles at your face.  
"Ill give you some privacy" he says as he exits the room.

You wear the clothes he left on the bed, and fold the ones you were wearing.  
You place them on the chair and go to bed.  
Suddenly, the sweet smell of the sheets and the freshness of the room lead you to a deep sleep. 


End file.
